Abstract We investigated the effects of hydrogen separation using high-temperature anhydrous proton-exchange membrane fuel-cell technology. Various acid-doped para-polybenzimidazole (p-PBI)-chain end-tethered amine-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (NH2-POSS) membranes were prepared via a unique sol-gel transition method termed as the poly(phosphoric acid) process. The resulting NH2-POSS-capped p-PBI membranes exhibited a higher phosphoric acid-doping level (128–223.5%) and proton conductivity (0.23–0.29 S cm−1 at 160 °C and 0% relative humidity) than the parent p-PBI membrane. The chemical chain end-termination of p-PBI with cage-like NH2-POSS significantly enhanced the electrochemical H2/CO2 and H2/CO separation at 160 °C. The hydrogen separation of the NH2-POSS-capped p-PBI system required a relatively small amount of energy, and the system exhibited a good dynamic response. The favorable interfacial interaction between the NH2-POSS and the p-PBI host, high thermomechanical stability, and good fuel-cell and hydrogen-separation performance at high temperatures up to 160 °C indicate the applicability of the NH2-POSS-capped p-PBI membranes to electrochemical power generation and hydrogen pumps for practical industrial applications in harsh and extreme environments.

中文翻译：

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用于高效电化学发电和氢气分离的本体段对聚苯并咪唑的链端终止

摘要 我们研究了使用高温无水质子交换膜燃料电池技术进行氢气分离的效果。各种酸掺杂的对聚苯并咪唑 (p-PBI)-链端系留胺-多面体低聚倍半硅氧烷 (NH2-POSS) 膜是通过称为聚（磷酸）工艺的独特溶胶-凝胶转变方法制备的。由此产生的 NH2-POSS 封端的 p-PBI 膜表现出比母体 p-PBI 膜更高的磷酸掺杂水平（128-223.5%）和质子电导率（0.23-0.29 S cm-1 在 160 °C 和 0% 相对湿度） -PBI 膜。具有笼状 NH2-POSS 的 p-PBI 的化学链末端显着增强了 160°C 下的电化学 H2/CO2 和 H2/CO 分离。NH2-POSS 封端的 p-PBI 系统的氢分离需要相对少量的能量，并且系统表现出良好的动态响应。NH2-POSS 与 p-PBI 主体之间良好的界面相互作用、高热机械稳定性以及在高达 160°C 的高温下良好的燃料电池和氢分离性能表明 NH2-POSS 封端的 p- PBI 膜用于电化学发电和氢泵，适用于恶劣和极端环境中的实际工业应用。